Terephthalic acid (TA) and other aromatic carboxylic acids may be used in the manufacture of polyesters (e.g., via their reaction with ethylene glycol and/or higher alkylene glycols). Polyesters in turn may be used to make fibers, films, containers, bottles, other packaging materials, molded articles, and the like.
In commercial practice, aromatic carboxylic acids have been made by liquid phase oxidation of methyl-substituted benzene and naphthalene feedstocks in an aqueous acetic acid solvent. The positions of the methyl substituents correspond to the positions of carboxyl groups in the aromatic carboxylic acid product. Air or other sources of oxygen (e.g., typically in a gaseous state) have been used as oxidants in the presence, for example, of a bromine-promoted catalyst that contains cobalt and manganese. The oxidation is exothermic and yields aromatic carboxylic acid together with by-products, including partial or intermediate oxidation products of the aromatic feedstock, and acetic acid reaction products (e.g., methanol, methyl acetate, and methyl bromide). Water is also generated as a by-product.
Pure forms of aromatic carboxylic acids are oftentimes desirable for the manufacture of polyesters to be used in important applications (e.g., fibers and bottles). Impurities in the acids (e.g., by-products generated from oxidation of aromatic feedstocks and, more generally, various carbonyl-substituted aromatic species) are thought to cause and/or correlate with color formation in polyesters made therefrom, which in turn leads to off-color in polyester converted products. Aromatic carboxylic acids having reduced levels of impurities may be made by further oxidizing crude products from liquid phase oxidation as described above at one or more progressively lower temperatures and oxygen levels. In addition, partial oxidation products may be recovered during crystallization and converted into the desired acid product.
Pure forms of terephthalic acid and other aromatic carboxylic acids having reduced amounts of impurities—for example, purified terephthalic acid (PTA)—have been made by catalytically hydrogenating less pure forms of the acids or so-called medium purity products in solution using a noble metal catalyst. In commercial practice, liquid phase oxidation of alkyl aromatic feed materials to crude aromatic carboxylic acid, and purification of the crude product, are oftentimes conducted in continuous integrated processes in which crude product from the liquid phase oxidation is used as a starting material for the purification.
In conventional processes, after hydrogenation, a rotary pressure filter apparatus is used to separate the purified carboxylic acid solids from a solid/liquid mixture. A two-phase wet gas stream exits the rotary pressure filter apparatus through a wet gas line. The wet gas line leads to a separation zone. The pressure in the wet gas line drops when the wet gas stream exits the rotary pressure filter apparatus, causing evaporation of solvent in the wet gas line. Because the wet gas stream is a two-phase gas/liquid stream containing inert gases, flashing is more likely than if it were only a liquid stream. The solids formed after evaporation cause fouling in the filter apparatus and thus require shutting down the system in order to clean the filter apparatus. Heating the inert gas and/or wash fluid entering the filter apparatus also leads to increased evaporation, and thus increased fouling in the filter and the wet gas line.
Thus, there is a need for a process for reducing fouling in the filter apparatus and wet gas line and thus, increase run time of the system.